Freefall
by LittleBabeBlue
Summary: One of us can fly, One hangs by their hair, One of us can try, One of us feels they're not there. ROTBTD. Jack, Rapunzel, Hiccup, Merida. No pairings. Even I'm not sure what genre this is.


Hiccup enjoys freefall. The wind rushing past with not even Toothless underneath him. Hiccup's not suicidal, that's very obvious. He has too much at stake in life for that, he loves his girlfriend, Astrid, and his village, and most of all Toothless, but there's something about the utter freedom he has while falling that clears it all away.

Maybe it has to do with his foot. The damn metal foot. In freefall he doesn't have to worry about slipping on icy patches, or getting it caught in Toothless harness, or the villagers pitying looks as he limps past. He doesn't have to deal with the youngest children in Berk, who don't remember a time without dragons, looking at him like he's a god. In the air, all of that's gone and he's the same as any other teenager, whole, with no parts missing.

Maybe it has to do with his mother. Valhallarama died falling from a dragon during a raid. Maybe when Hiccup is falling, just like she did, he feels a little closer to the woman he barely knew. And when Toothless catches him, he can feel thankful that he has what she didn't. A safety net, a friend, someone to catch her every time she felt like she was falling.

Maybe it's because freefall seems to symbolize his life. Everything muted and blurred, with the wind rushing past him, spinning him around and leaving him behind. Alone. In the air no one can touch him. He is invincible and safe from everyone, but so, so lonely. And then there's Toothless. Rising up underneath him, anchoring him to the world again, providing the support and safety he so desperately needs. If Toothless isn't there, he hits the ground, hard. But that's never happened yet.

_And he hopes it never will._

* * *

Rapunzel enjoys freefalll. After she's looped her hair over something high and stepped off her window, there's nothing like the feeling of having only herself to support her. Rapunzel's not suicidal. She has too much happiness in life for that. She loves Pascal, and her mother, and the lights that fly past her window each year, but sometimes it gets too hard to sit and do nothing.

Maybe it's because it's freedom, and she's never had that before. Taking her life in her own hands and actually feeling the world going past instead of sitting in her tower day after day. Rapunzel only does it when her mother's out, and each time she feels so guilty, because what if something went wrong and her mother came back and found her, and then her mother would be so alone all the time. Each time she resolves never to do it again, but sooner or later it gets too tempting and she jumps again. Because maybe Rapunzel needs this freedom because it is the only thing that she doesn't share with her mother.

Maybe it's because it's dangerous. Rapunzel always stops a step above the ground, never touching the green grass, because if she does then she would be leaving the tower, and that would mean entering the world. And although she feels like she needs to fly, she can never get over that her mother tells her that she doesn't have wings, and never will. And maybe it's because it's scary, knowing that at any moment her hair could break, or her grasp could slip, and then she'd be out of the tower and on the ground.

Maybe it's because it's peaceful. Sometimes she loops her hair into a swing and sits cradled in gold just outside of her window, pushing off the tower with her foot and swinging back and forth. Maybe it's because she feels so close to the lights that she feels so strongly about, a candle trapped in a paper box, just like them. Because even when she feels this trapped, her golden hair doesn't let her down.

_And she hopes it never will._

* * *

Jack enjoys freefall. Sometimes he asks the wind to just let go for a bit, and he falls, only a couple hundred feet, until it catches him again. Jack's not suicidal. It would take more than freefall to kill a Spirit, and he knows it, but falling like that just feels so good.

Maybe it's because people don't see him. Jack knows that a boy falling from the sky is unusual, and hopes, in some tiny part of himself, that someone will see him and notice. That someone will look up one day and shout in alarm because there's a boy going far too fast towards the ground.

Maybe it's because the Guardians don't see him. Not really. Sure, they look at him and see Jack Frost, the carefree and troublesome spirit of winter, but they have never seen Jackson Overland Frost, the confused boy who suddenly became immortal on a cold, moonlight night. Maybe freefall is his way of screaming out "I'm here! Look at me! Look closer!" without saying a word.

Maybe it's because of the wind. The wind listens to him. In a time where no one else can even sense his presence, when he asks the wind to let him fall for a bit, it agrees. Maybe it's because the wind always catches him again, and he knows that at least one thing on this earth, even if it can never speak to him, cares about him enough to not let him fall. As long as he has his staff, there is a chance that the wind can interact with him at all. And maybe that's why it hurts so much when Pitch breaks it. Because when the Guardians forget about him, the wind is still there, and it has never let him fall.

_And he hopes it never will._

* * *

Merida enjoys freefall. Jumping from the top of the waterfall into the deep pond below. She's not suicidal, that's very clear, but whenever she needs to escape, she'll climb to the top of that waterfall and let herself go.

Maybe it's the weightlessness of it. Maybe it's the fact that she can get away from everything, all the pressure placed on her by her mother, the expectations of her father, the annoyances of her brothers. Maybe it's the fact that when she's alone at the top of her fall, she can completely be herself. She can rip her dresses without immediate retribution, she can tangle her hair even more, she can slouch, and sigh, and play in the water without anyone judging her or glaring.

Maybe it's the fact that she's alone. Merida has always felt like no one could truly understand her. After the incident with the bears and the witch who sold carvings, her mother got better at knowing her daughter, but no one came close to her. It sometimes seems funny that her best friend is a horse, but it sometimes makes her sad as well. When she's surrounded by people she is still alone, but guarded, because no one knows her, and no one can. When she is falling through the air, her guards drop and she is herself.

Maybe it has to do with the fact that her life has changed so much. The falls are a connection to her past, when she was still fighting with her mother and felt trapped by her destiny. When she jumps off the falls, she can see how far she's come and truly knows that you can change your fate, if only you try hard enough. Maybe falling symbolizes the idea that she is her own person and no one can take that away from her. Maybe it's the fact that the feeling of her waterfall can always make her feel better, and she knows that it will always, always be there for her. It has never lost it's magic.

_And she hopes it never will._

* * *

When they are asked where they are going, they just smile and slip out before any more questions start. Inside, their answer is always the same.

"Freefall."

_And they hope they always will._

* * *

**Wait, what? What was this? Argh. This'll teach me to write after midnight. Still, I'll post it because I already filled everything out... sigh. Don't kill me, please? Even I don't know what this story means.**


End file.
